Jogja

The Cradle of Javanese Culture

Formerly the capital of the ancient Mataram Empire, Yogyakarta definitely deserves to be called ‘the craddle of Javanese culture’. Life in Yogyakarta is rich with many of the traditional aspects that still can be found in this city, living side by side in harmony with those of the contemporary ones. Proudly preserving the traditional ways, willingly accepting the modern means, and boldly emerging a brand new culture as a result, that’s the true nature of Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta earned its status as a special area with the same autonomy level of a province to its heroic participation during the second clash of Indonesian struggle for independence. As a result, it is only in Yogyakarta that you can find the last palace that remains politically and socially active among the surounding people. Members of the royal family are still living inside this palace and actively involved with Yogyakarta’s daily life. Yogya’s late Sultan, Hamengku Buwono IX was the governor of Yogya until his death. The present Sultan, Hamengku Buwono X now is also the governor of Yogyakarta, elected by the people. It’s mainly caused by the love held by the people toward the palace and the royal family, which is still considered to be the center of their lives and daily activities. No wonder that all activities held by the palace such as Grebeg Maulud and other ceremonies are still greeted warmly by the people.

The palace itself was built in a mixture of European and classical Javanesse Style, preserving the traditional ornament and architecture that represent the Javanese philosophy. Every single ornament has its own philosophical significance, whether as a way of stating important dates according to Javanesse calendar system or other significant funtions. Many royal heirlooms treated as treasures are still kept inside this palace; all are considered sacred and powerfull things to be treated with respect and care. Once a year, those royal heirlooms are cleansed and washed by the royal retainers in a great ceremony and then carried in a royal procession aroud the heart of the city.

Daily life in Yogyakarta is as interesting as the cultural sides of the city. Malioboro Street, for instance, is always busy and active day or night. Lying in the heart of city, this street is the center of business of the city. Mall, hotels, money changer, art shops, some government offices, food stalls, souvenir stalls, many of them are to be found in Malioboro Street. People busily walk this street every day, following the rhythm of the city’s hearbeat. Come the night, and the street is active with food stalls and people enjoying life or trying to make living. Clubs, cafe and pubs offer additional spices to the night life.

Art forms also live gloriously in Yogyakarta. Many of those originated in ancient Javanese still survive with only slight modification. Batik-making is a good example of those surviving art forms. This method of cloth decorating using wax painting as patern-maker is one of Javanese most famous and highly developed traditional art. A canting (pen-like intrument with a small container filled with liquid wax) is applied to make the complicated pattern the cloth. To completely remove the wax from the cloth after dye substances are applied to it, the dyed cloth is scraped and finally boiled. The whole process of repeatedly waxing and dyeing the cloth needs patience and full concentration, of course. However, beside the hand-made batik processing, there is also a faster method for batik making using stamp. Naturally the result of this method are regarded to be inferior to the hand-made ones; its lack of character is indeed a flaw. The wax used in making batik pattern is actually a special mixture of paraffin, bees-wax, animal fat, and a sort of tree resin called gondorukem.

Another surviving ancient Javanese art form that can be found in Yogyakarta is the making and performance of wayang kulit (leather puppet for shadow-puppet play). The puppet are made of buffalo hide (skin of other animals are not stiff enough) and are beautifully carved and painted in an intriguing design. During the show, there is a white cotton screen illuminated by blencong (a sort of oil lantern, usually made of bronze) on stage. A dalang (the puppet master) sits in front of the screen, below the blencong, and skillfully plays the puppets. Some of the audience watch the performance from behind the scene. What they actually see are the living shadow of the puppets; shadow in Javanese is Wayang, and perhaps this is the origin of the name wayang kulit. Other audience sit in front of the screen to watch the wayang played by the dalang. On the right and left side of the dalang, the wayang figures which are not in play are stuck to a banana tree pole. Behind dalang the gamelan music instruments are arranged and played by the wiyogo (gamelan players).

Surrounding the remarkable city of Yogyakarta are numerous archaeological sites. One of them is Prambanan, a complex of beautiful shrines. The main shrines were built in such a towering figure, so that even from quite a distance Prambanan is able to make any viewer stare in awe. Lying on the area that once was obviously of great importance during the 8th – 9th century ancient Javanese civilization, Prambanan is considered to be the most beautiful ancient Hindu shrines in Indonesia. Restoration effort has put the six main shrines close enough to the former glory, though about 200 smaller shrines that once surrounded this central area are still in complete ruins.

The restored six main shrines consists of three large shrines and three smaller shrines. The three large ones were dedicated to holy trinity of Brahma (God the creator), Vishnu (God the preserver), and Shiva (God the destroyer). Inside the smaller ones are the statues of the mythical animals those three gods ride: Hamsa the swan for Brahma, Garuda the eagle for Vishnu, and Nandi the bull for Shiva. Many of the original statues survive the passing of centuries, regarded as the finest examples of ancient Javanese-Hindu wonderful works of art.

Between May and October, the nights in Prambanan sometimes become quite lively with the performance of Ramayana Ballet in the open air theatre. Being one of the world’s most spectacular stage show, with the monumental Prambanan shrines in the background, the colossal Ramayana Ballet is offering you an experiential guide to the most popular Hindu epic ever been told. Imagine yourself being in the middle of the battle between good and evil, witnessing the fight of the monkey warriors against the troops of ogres and giants, sharing the sadness of the kidnapped Princess Shinta and the love she held for her husband Prince Rama, mourning over the tragic end of Kumbakarna the good giant of virtue, and admiring the sincere loyalty of Hanuman the sagacious white simian knight. Ramayana Ballet offers you much more than just a colossal stage show. In a way, it is a spiritual adventure; a vehicle that brings you to the realm of myths and legends, where good fight against evil. Experience this ultimate adventure of the great saga, and grasp the virtue it teaches.

“That’s all?”, one might ask. Actually, the answer is no. There are still so many things to see and encounter in Yogya. So many of them that it will take hundreds of pages to describe them briefly. The only way to appreciate them is to come and see them yourself. Here in Yogya, the cradle of Javanese culture.